My So Called Life

So, I've decided to start this back up, but mainly only for family members who would like to know what is going on with me.

I've got my last week of class coming up. My final's on Thursday, and after that I'm done until regular fall classes start back on the 25th. This is also my first week fully working since I came to college. I'm working at Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville, and absolutely love it. It's a bit stressful sometimes, and my feet hate me for always wearing cowboy boots, but the atmosphere of the club and of my fellow workers is simply amazing. It's so much fun having a job that is based on country music.

Rant: The Rangers, for losing 8 straight games to the O's. Very sad, boys.
Rave: "Save a horse, ride a cowboy" Overplayed: yes. Still fun to listen to: definately.


I'm off to bed. Love you all and God bless.

Franklin

Well spring break is finally here. Ahh, the sound of relaxation.

So, last night was a bit scary. Tornadoes aren't very rare in Tennessee, but rarely do I actually have to take cover. But all is well as far as I know. Thank you Lord for that.

I'll be at home the next 9 days. If you need to reach me, call me there.

Well, today marked the beginning of a new and wonderful chapter in my life. I have decided to re-find my faith. I have lived so long trying to get by without it. I realize now that I have been only fooling and hurting myself. I cannot stress the impact that "The Passion" has had on me. In my opinion, this movie will have such an impact on the religious world that it will only be rivaled by the Reformation of the Catholic church and the life of Christ himself. I think it is a universally informative movie that should be viewed by members of all faith, not just Christianity.

Also, I finally conceded to my mom and began reading the "Left Behind" series. I can truthfully say that I regret not reading them sooner. Even though they are not the most challenging or intellectual read, they are very informative on shedding light on a certain Christian concept not remotely understood by members of the faith. I used to make fun it by saying the authors couldn't think of a topic on their own, so they just regurgitated the Bible as fiction. Boy was I wrong. I suggest that anybody interested in the book of Revelation or specifically in the Rapture itself read at least the first book. I'm not sure you will be able to stop after just the first one, but I do suggest you at least give it a try.

I have also decided to widen my knowledge base. I do not want to be a one-dimensional thinker. I would like to be that individual that people say, "He's one of the smartest people I know." I do not want this as a symbol of my pride, but I want to be able to say that I have fully exhausted my talents. I have long been an underachiever, doing only what was necessary to get by. But I hope to change that. My long term goal is to have a fluency in 10 different languages. Now I know this is no small feat, especially for me, who tends to be more mathematically and scientifically bound when it comes to intellect. My goal is to learn most of the languages of the Western world, along with a few Eastern European languages. My list of these includes English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Czech. With the remaining three I would like to study some of the ancient languages like Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic. If anyone would like to teach me these languages or would like to help me in getting started with them I would be more than pleased with any help given.

This one has gone long enough. Have a beautiful day.

So, I took a break from the hustle and bustle of the Vanderbubble and scooted down to Tullahoma for the weekend. It was a nice relaxing break that is having more effect on me than anyone could possibly fathom.

I've gotten to catch up on my sleep, so now I'm energized for this last week before spring break. I had a multihour long discussion with my mom about everything under the sun and I feel a lot better about myself and everything that goes with me now. Having someone who knows you almost as well as you know yourself is a real treasure, just make sure you're willing to open up, otherwise it's just a waste of time. I got to sort through a lot of shit this weekend and now I feel better.

Went and saw "The Passion of the Christ" tonight. There has never been a moving that had a more profound effect on me. It singlehandedly has caused a reaffirmation of my faith. So expect me to become a little more religious as times goes on. I sat down and read the Bible yesterday, and I got up from that feeling so good about my life it was scary. I haven't felt that good in I don't know how long, and I have had some very good moments in the past few years. I think graduation was the last time that I felt as at ease as I did on Saturday. As for the movie, it was wonderfully done. Anyone who finds anti-Semetic feelings in the movie, did not go into the movie with an open mind. I did not see any semblance of anti-Semetism. What I saw was a mob mentality of the Jewish people spurred on by the elite Jewish priests that were uncomfortable with the teachings of this so-called Messiah. And since Mel based this movie on the Bible itself, there might be some slight misrepresentations from actual history, but since the Bible is all we have as history from this time period, then the anti-Semetism came not from Gibson and the movie, but were underlying themes in the Gospels themselves. I, however, seriously doubt that the writers of the Gospels would have blatantly blamed the Jewish people. I do agree that there might have been some misrepresentation of Pontius Pilate, since history shows him to be a merciless governor of Caesar, but you must realize that the New Testament was being published during the time that Christianity was still a fledging religious sect under the rule of a much stronger Roman empire. I will say, however, that the movie does not paint all of the Roman soldiers to be friendly and forgiving; in fact, only a handful besides Pilate are viewed as amiable characters.

The Jewish man who helps Christ with his burden en route to Cavalry hill was, in my mind, one of the best portrayed characters of the movie. Only in Mother Mary did I see a better protrayal of Christian principles.

Overall, one of the most profound events of the current era. I believe that Mel Gibson made this movie from his heart, and did a great job at it. I just hope that the politics of Hollywood do not get in the way of the accomplishments of this movie's success.

What a great song. "Keg in the Closet" off Kenny Chesney's new album "When the Sun Goes Down." Kenny was a Lambda Chi at East Tennessee State. Go buy it. Or download. I don't care.

Today was filled with indifference. I got a 6 hour nap in. And now I'm wide awake. Got to spend some quality time with the guys at the house. That was cool. Happy birthday B-man. I'm really starting to understand my number theory. That's good. Maybe there is hope for me as a mathematician, yet.

Welcome to Lent, the season of "Shit, I gave that up." I'm not going to reveal what I gave up on my journal, I'll let you use your imagination. Only 40 more days. Woohoo.

Well, I'm off to continue a discussion about fraternity organization. Night.

We had chapter elections tonight. Four and a half hours is a very long time to spend in chapter. Congratulations on all new officers. I'm very excited for the next year. I can't wait for officer turnover and I know that the future of our house is in good hands. But now I'm off to bed. It's been a long day.

PS - decent job on my theory test plus I get a remake for my mse test. woohoo

visit www.tickle.com, great site for personality test as well as other fun things to do

Well, hey guys. I thought about letting this thing die out, but I realized that it is probably pretty helpful for me.

This weekend was a blast. Dance Marathon on Friday night. We helped double the goal, so thanks to all of those who donated. Got to sleep in a little bit on Saturday and then had dinner with the brothers (which is always nice) and then a little party back at the house. Dev Dwyer is a champ for trying to play pong after breaking his hand the night before on a mechanical bull. Props to GD 311.

More props go to the Unholz/Dwyer combination at DM for making the first half of the evening so much more enjoyable. I've never seen anybody try to unarm their opponent in the joust by using their pedestal. And more props to Dev for lunging at a much bigger target. For some unknown reason, alcohol makes you think you can do the impossible.

Well, some important things of note:

Elections are tomorrow for the fraternity. Good luck to all.
Two weeks left til Spring Break (wherever I might end up).

And please keep my cousin in your hearts and prayers who relapsed back into leukemia on Thursday. Good luck and God blass, Whit.

See y'all tomorrow.

And the worst semester ever in history has finally come to a close. I stayed up most of the night preparing for the two worst finals, only to discover that they were much easier than I had assumed. I think I did well on both exams, so thats good.

Now I get to fly out to Dallas and spend 6 wonderful days relaxing and then fly back for more relaxation. It will be nice, I tell you. I get to spend Christmas in three different cities this year. That's a new record. How cool is that.

Love all of you who take the time to read this, either fraternally or family-ly.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and have a wonderful New Year's celebration.

Rant: I'm in too good of a mood to spoil it by thinking of something bad to say.
Rave: Holidays.

"Always look on the bright side of life."

Well, today as been a pretty decent day. I spent the first part of the day preparing for my history final and the second half relaxing a bit. I think I must have written two of my finest pieces of on-the-spot writing for my final, so hopefully the grade will come out good. I never knew that being a devout Southerner could have such an impact in a class. I'm now at the midway point of my finals week, but my two hardest are Saturday so tomorrow is strictly preparation for those. It's really sad to look around and notice that more than half of the people you know are done for the semester, but you haven't even come close to finishing.

Rants: Sore throats that don't get better even after insane amounts of water, Chloraseptic spray, and Hall's cough drops.
Raves: Taking nothing and turning it into $80. Thanks again, Biggs.

Congratulations to Donald Christian Voshall, GD 300, for graduating Vanderbilt. Good luck, Vosh.

Well, I've finally gotten around to updating this thing. Sorry about the wait.

Well, finals have come. And that sucks. I have friends who left school before I had my first final. Not to mention those UTK students who left school before my classes ended. They suck. But I've taken one so far, and have one today. My last, and hardest, two are both on Saturday. But then, after they're over, I get to leave school and have six days of peace in Dallas. Followed by 2 full weeks of rest at home. Which includes some really cool holidays I might add.

Rant: People who tell you to be somewhere at 6 am and then don't show up.
Rave: Poker, and everything to do with it. And Peter Jackson, director of Lord of the Rings: Congratulations on a job well done.

Inspirational Quote for the Day:

You may be only one person in the world,
but you may also be the world to one person

Went to "the" party tonight. It was a lot of fun. Got to tap a keg for the first time. And had my first keg stands. Fun times, fun times. I'm going somewhere else.

Well, we lost. Badly. Very badly. Time to celebrate.

Knoxville has welcomed me in full fashion. David, C-Dawg, and I had a little party of our own to celebrate the reunion which turned into a babysitting match for C-Dawg before the night was over. Fun nonetheless. It was good to see the boys again. Met some good people. Met some not good people. Almost got in a fight protecting the "fake Irish" kid. Crawford decided it would be fun to act Irish all night, and it almost turned into a reenactment of the gypsy scene from "Snatch;" it was fun.

Today is the best weekend for college football: Yay for college rivalries. Let's go Michagin and Vandy.

Rant: TCU for ending their undefeated season in terrible fashion to SoMiss.
Rave: 27 year-old freshmen and sneaking in products through a dormitory window.

See y'all tomorrow.

Bronchitis. That's what the doctor said at least. I have bronchitis. But at least it's over the break so I'll have opportunities to get better and well rested. I'm heading off to Knoxville today, and then Tullahoma on Tuesday, so if you need to reach me you'll know how.

Only nine days of classes left, and then only four exams, and then freedom. I can't wait to spend the holidays with family and friends. Plus, I'm thinking of hosting another New Year's Eve bash at the house if it's possible, otherwise I'll probably ask David.

I'm starting to lose my touch in pong. Don't know if it's because I've been sick or the fact that I have terrible partners, but either way, I need to practice and regain my top form.

We finished our flag football season yesterday with a moral victory of not only having more than enough guys to play, but also ruining Pike's red zone percentage with a pick in the zone. Otherwise, we still got obilerated by a score that is reminescent of the 2001 UF-Vandy game (72-13) except that Vandy outscored us by 13. It was bad.

Rant: People who steal my money.
Rave: College rivalry weekend. Go Michigan!

I've been told that my "blog" isn't very interesting, but still a multitude of people waste their time reading it so I'll try and make it more enjoyable. I would like to stress that this is more a "what's going on with Franklin" journal than a large AIM profile, so if it is a little dry, that's because my life is dry. My apologies for not being interesting.

Finished both tests, did well on one, not so much the other, but I'll wait for my grades.

I'll be at Knoxville for the first few days of break, partying and celebrating a much overdue Vandy win over UT.

Looking forward to the end of a bad semester and a fresh start next year.

Rant: Overbearing fill-in study hours dictator.
Rave: Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was great. God bless CBS.

See you again tomorrow.

Only four more days until the Thanksgiving reprieve. It will be a much needed week of R&R including some fun times with my buds up in K-town. Perhaps Vanderbilt will go on a winning streak. Probably not, but it should still be fun.

Well, this week is a pretty tough week coming up, I have tests in statics and diffequ, and I have a project design proposal due for one of my civil engineering classes. In other words I'll be busy most of the week.

I'm still feeling a bit run-down and always hurried, but whether the latter is because of a truly overloaded life or just a procrastinator's work ethic I'm not sure. I've been getting very odd sleep patterns lately, mostly where I stay up all night and sleep during the day which isn't helping, but at least I'm accomplishing things during the night, right?

Rant and Rave section:
Rants: Procrastination is like masterbation. Its fun until you realize you're only fucking yourself.
Raves: Rugby has to be one of the coolest sports ever.

Congratulations to Vandy, it only took 24 tries.

Well, I've decided to try this thing out. Special thanks to Jessie for introducing me to it. Hopefully this will allow my friends, family, and random individuals to sneak a peek inside the life of Franklin Noland Petr. I'm not guaranteeing that this will be a good read, but maybe it will help you to understand me a little bit better.

That's enough for the first entry, but keep checking back for more.